A csu student Interview September 15, 2010 4pm

The concept of success has morphed over the years and so has the American dream that has been collectively dreamt by our elders. To gain an insight into the new definition and dream I sat down with a classmate, Tiffany Johnson. In our conversation we briefly spoke about what sets one apart from others and what personal goals are needed to obtain success.

At first I asked a few questions to get to know more pass the assumptions made about someone else in a journalism class at Chicago State. I learned quite a bit about her while sitting in that hard chair/desk combo things found at every institution. It was while I was wiggling around on that hard bench I learned that as an American military brat her childhood was scattered all over bases here and around the world. To this day she comes to a pause when asked where she grew up. She was born in Georgia and then began her journey through military bases with her mother, two brothers and one sister.

 Moving from place to place she turned to books to find entertainment and passion. By being an introvert and a bookworm she finds it has lead her to life of a loner and “perpetual singleness”, but she is happy as any other person by keeping her life peaceful and free of confrontations and drama that goes along with that. She makes her life exciting by challenging herself to achieve her goals. As a “senior in limbo” she has almost finished her degree in professional and technical writing but has desires for more schooling. Although she was a monster in school as a child she has found new passions in learning and understanding the world around her. Fascinated by the world of science she has set the goal of simultaneously attaining a master’s in media science and taking up science in order to one day head a research library.

When she thinks about success and whether she has achieved it she said “No, I haven’t done anything. I just figured out the plan. I should be so much further along.”  Even though when I asked her whether or not she would see herself as successful once her goals have been achieved I got a “Hmm…” I am completely confident that she will find success and fulfillment. This gives a new look into the old American dream and new reference to the definition of success.